NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks tallied their third straight session of gains on Wednesday, led by energy shares as oil prices jumped while better than expected economic data helped allay growth concerns.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) was up 255.37 points, or 1.58 percent, to 16,451.78, the S&P 500 (SPX) had gained 31.04 points, or 1.64 percent, to 1,926.62 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) had added 98.11 points, or 2.21 percent, to 4,534.07.